Ninety eight first-year students applied to participate in the second annual Idea to Aisle Pitch Competition. Of those, 65 students advanced where they brainstormed ideas for food products, conducted market validation and more for a chance to pitch to an esteemed panel at the Idea to Aisle final event on October 21, 2026. Over half of the participants were women.
Idea to Aisle is all about getting students involved in starting a company, understanding a market, and building leadership skills within their first month on campus.
Open to all first-year students, Idea to Aisle included mentors, graduates, and students in multiple capacities. A group of MBA Fellowship students served the role of judging the first slate of entries and choosing which teams would advance.
Additionally, seven attendees from the 2025 event played the role of mentoring the semi-finalists. Their guidance played a crucial role in helping this year’s freshman group get the most out of the event.
The competition culminated with guidance and feedback from a high-powered panel that included Sam Rockwell, Jeremy Reich, and Justin Samuels, the WSB founders of Happi Co (makers of SlapSnacks and Dr. Bombay ice cream).
The panel also included WSB MBA (2018) alum Andrew Foster of FreshFin, Tom Bush of Food Concepts, Inc, and Cecily Brose of the Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub.
Teams were tasked with creating a short video submission about their product for the chance to be one of nine finalists to pitch live.
Throughout October, the students formed teams, decided on a food product idea, and worked on their pitch. Nine teams of finalists presented to a panel of judges on October 21.
The winning team was CafeCup, led by Abbie Graff, Sarah Martens and Kathryn Tonking. The company aspires to offer flavors such as Strawberry Matcha Latte, and Coconut Mocha Latte. The cups are a layered mix of caffeinated drink, yogurt, and fresh berries and produce.
Idea to Aisle received a Net Promoter score of 63.
“I feel that the concept of Idea to Aisle is awesome,” said one anonymous Idea to Aisle participant. “It’s a great way for people to come up with their own product in a short period of time and exercise very useful skills outside of the classroom. I also think that it’s a great way to get involved on campus outside of clubs.”
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